Hall ready for FA Trophy debut

Dean Greygoose intends to give his Mildenhall Town players the licence to express themselves as the club prepares for its first ever foray in the Buildbase FA Trophy.

It is a tough debut in the competition for Greygoose’s men, who on Saturday will pit themselves against higher-league King’s Lynn Town at The Walks in the first qualifying round (3pm).

The Linnets have been making waves on and off the pitch this season, currently occupying second place in the Evo Stik Southern League Premier Division standings.

But it was the capture of Grant Holt — scorer of 24 Premier League goals for Norwich City and Aston Villa — earlier this month that truly put the spotlight on the Norfolk side.

Holt’s former Norwich team-mate Simon Lappin signed on at the same time — the duo joining a squad that already contained ex-Cambridge United striker Michael Gash, managed by 1984 UEFA Cup winner Ian Culverhouse.

Faced with such talent and experience, Greygoose — once a Lynn goalkeeper — is well aware his men will have to be at their very best defensively if they are to stand any chance of recording a positive result.

However, he is also not planning to park the proverbial bus, with Greygoose keen for Mildenhall to pose a threat themselves.

“We know there are going to be spells when we will have to be brave, dig in and defend well,” said the former Crewe Alexandra goalkeeper.

“It is a challenge we will need to stand up to against some big name players.

“But whatever shape we end up playing, I like to think I am not a particularly defensive manager.

“Sometimes the amount of defending you have to do depends on how well you use the ball — if you keeping giving it away, you defend more.

“We will have to defend a little more than normal perhaps, but I do not want us doing it for 90 minutes.

“It is a big pitch at Lynn and that will give us the chance to play.

“Hopefully we will take a decent number of fans with us and I want them to come away having seen us trying to be creative and trying to win the match.” Jake Chambers-Shaw (foot) is a doubt for the tie, while a hamstring injury has ruled out experienced midfielder Gareth Simpson.